Inside the Mind of an Asthmatic Stalker
by skatergirl13
Summary: Brainy. Who is Brainy? And what kind of a person would name their child Brainy?Why does he hide? And why does he stalk a certain lovesick girl?
1. Chapter 1: The Spitball Symphony

"Oh my love, my sweet prince!"

Brainy watched a blonde girl with pigtails recite. He loved the way she annunciated, the way he voice rang clear, the poems she wrote. Heck why didn't he just say it? He loved her. Helga G. Pataki.

But he knew that those beautiful love poems she recited behind random objects would never be about him. That she would never, could never, pine for him the same way she pined for…

"…that flaxen haired angel, whom I watch from a far"

Yet he could accept that and -although he would rather have Helga to himself- would do anything to see her happy, even if it meant getting her together with someone other than himself. This selflessness and unconditional love is something everyone seems to push aside when it comes to this asthma afflicted boy.

He longed for Helga's touch, and he knows one way he's sure to get it.

"huh…huh…" He wheezed, expecting exactly what happened next.

SMACK!

As he laid on the ground he watched her go, pushing kids out of her way and shouting.

Brainy is someone people usually ignore; because he really doesn't want to be noticed, not by _them_ anyway. Maybe by Helga or perhaps that boy she longs for so much. But other people just cause complications. They'd ruin his perfect world of deep thoughts and wonderings… and poetry. How he loved poetry. He knew this was one of the many reasons he felt the way he did about Helga. As far as looks went Brainy was a very skinny and lanky boy. Much like Stinky Peterson from his class, but Brainy was not nearly as tall. His square-rimmed glasses had tape wrapped around them; they usually broke anytime Helga hit him, which, if he was lucky, was on a daily basis. Then there was his asthma. He had been plagued by this disease since he was around two years old. All that can be said about this was that he was skilled with and inhaler.

Brainy walked to the janitor's closet, as inconspicuously as possible. Not that he really had to worry; no one would care even if he was eating lunch in the janitor's closet. Sometimes Janitor Bill let Brainy eat his lunch in the closet. Brainy hated the loud noises and fights of the cafeteria. He preferred solitude… beautiful, quiet, solitude. Where he could reflect and clear his thoughts.

He opened the brown paper bag and found a tuna-fish sandwich with pickles, his favorite.

As he took bite after bite out of the sandwich he reminisced about the day so far. This was the last day till the class camping trip…Brainy wasn't sure why they planned a camping trip for early April. The climate hadn't changed at all from the weather of late February.

_Perhaps we won't freeze?...No I still think the school should have planned it later in the year. Camping in February weather? They have no common sense._

The shrill sound of the bell knocked Brainy out of his thoughts. He sighed and stuffed the last bit of his tuna-fish in his mouth, crumpled up the bag, threw it in the trash can, and walked out of the closet.

As he walked he saw his peers.

Eugene, clumsy and optimistic, always falling on his face but acting like he landed on his feet.

Sheena, tall and awkward, she and Eugene loved the theater and musicals. They would both be on Broadway some day.

Stinky, Sid and Harold laughing and snickering about some prank they played; they always got caught.

Phoebe, smart, petite, and Helga's best friend. Phoebe was probably the only one who knew as much about Helga as Brainy did.

Gerald, boisterous and a ladies man, not to mention fairly good at every sport the 9 year olds played. He and Phoebe stole a few awkward glances at each other.

Arnold, well what could be said about Arnold, besides the fact that he was kind, sensitive, and had an optimism that could make a Satanist go to church. The one Helga claimed to be her one and only love. As to why Helga loved him, Brainy had a pretty good idea. But as to why Arnold hadn't snapped yet, Brainy was clueless.

Other students walked by but Brainy focused on the football headed boy. He was sure Arnold would have figured out Helga's secret by now.

Brainy went and sat in the back of class. He watched as the others talked and gossiped about the going ons at P.S. 118. Rhonda Lloyd talked about the newest fashions from Paris with Lila Sawyer. Arnold and Gerald talked about baseball cards. Phoebe "studied" her history book, glancing up at Gerald every few paragraphs, and the other classmates went about their normal business.

The late bell rang and, right on cue, Helga busted through the door.

"Helga, you're tardy again" Mr. Simmons replied in his perky voice, "If you keep coming in late you may miss 'special' announcements. Like that tomorrow is our classes spring camping trip!"

The class –unlike many other announcements- cheered and threw crumpled up papers in the air.

"I have already informed your guardians…" Mr. Simmons used the word guardians after Parents Day and his knowledge of how upset Arnold had been. _Guardians_ seemed to be a more appropriate word, "and we will leave tomorrow morning 9 o'clock sharp!...Now class put on your thinking caps because today we have a 'special' science lesson today about…moss!"

The class groaned at this and began to take out their books.

Midway through the class Brainy heard the familiar sound of paper tearing. He saw Arnold shudder at the sound. They both knew what was coming.

Smack!

The sound of a spitball hitting the bare flesh on Arnold's neck, Arnold winced slightly and brushed the spitball off. Then he turned to face Helga and mouthed, "Stop it"

Helga looked around the room twiddling her thumbs acting like she hadn't seen Arnold.

Arnold went back to the lesson. Only a few moments later…rip…smack!

Arnold turned back to face Helga again, "Cut it out". Helga once again ignored Arnold.

Arnold slowly turned back to watch Mr. Simmons.

….Rip….Smack!

Arnold turned to face Helga once more, "Helga"

Helga finally acknowledged him with a whisper, "What? What are you lookin' at football head? Geez"

Arnold sighed and tried to focus on the lesson.

Brainy chuckled quietly at the sounds on the "Spitball Symphony" as he had come to call it. How Arnold could not tell Helga liked him was beyond what Brainy could fathom. It seemed all too obvious. He had overheard Helga saying Arnold was dense, but surly not that dense?

"Well class I'll see you tomorrow. Bring you camping face!" Mr. Simmons said as the bell jarred Brainy out of his thoughts.

_What do you all think? Good? Bad? Horrific? Should I go jump off a bridged and end this meaningless life now? (LOL) I think this will be my best fanfic ever…hopefully. I've got most of it planned out._

_Please click Mr. Review button, he wants you to…_


	2. Chapter 2: Baseball and Plans

_Now I call Brainy "Brandon" in this chapter. I honestly tried to find his real name, if he had one, but there are very few websites on Brainy; so if anyone knows Brainy's actual name or if he has and actual name please tell me so I can make that change._

**Chapter 2: Baseball and Plans**

Brainy followed Helga as she followed Arnold and Gerald to the park. He stayed a good few yards behind Helga, she had pretty acute hearing. Arnold and Gerald went to an open part of the park and played some catch talking about things Helga and Brainy could not hear, because of their distance.

When Helga turned around to grab her locket Brainy quickly climbed into the tree Helga was hiding behind. Even though he looked quite geeky and uncoordinated Brainy was actually very athletic, not in the same way as Gerald, because he was never really into sports. But climbing trees, scaling fire escapes, jumping on haunted trains, climbing through caves, and getting hit in the face on a daily basis makes a guy pretty tough.

Helga once again began reciting brilliant poetry off the top of her head. How she did that, Brainy was still confused.

_I suppose it's just one of those things about Helga Pataki. One of those things she hides from the world._

Once again the longing for human touch came upon Brainy. He hated and loved that feeling; because he always seemed to upset Helga whenever he appeared behind her, but he always did get the touch he was longing for so much.

He made up his mind to do things as usual, if he was going to change any of his actions it would be on the camping trip.

He followed his normal procedure of wheezing and getting smacked; then watched Helga stomp off again through cracked lenses.

Brainy's walk home was like any other day. A few stray cats crossed his path as he walked down his street. Brainy never told anyone where he lived, because he feared pranks and rude signs on the door.

The iron handrail wobbled as he walked up the three stairs to his door, using the handrail out of habit. The stairs were chipped and the handrail was rusted, but his house looked no different from the other ones in the city of Hillwood. Well except for the area which Rhonda Lloyd and a boy known as Pea Pod Kid lived, but Brainy rarely considered those castles as houses.

Walking into the house he smelled a familiar musty odor. He knew his Aunt was home, because she always wore that same disgusting perfume. The inside of Brainy's house was fairly normal even if he wasn't. They house had three bed rooms, one for his parents, one for him and one guest room. They had a kitchen which was openly connected to the living room, which lead to small study that his parents had made into an office.

Glancing at the table he saw another tuna-fish sandwich, and concluded it must be for him. He picked it up and proceeded to the living room where his aunt was watching Cops.

"Brandon, can you believe these people. Why don't they just show them the incriminating evidence they've already given themselves away" Brainy's aunt asked him, calling him by his proper name.

Brainy simply shrugged, while taking a bite out of his sandwich and sitting down in the other recliner.

His aunt looked at him for a moment and said, "Why don't you ever talk? You can't honestly be that shy can you?"

Brainy shrugged again.

His aunt sighed and handed him a piece of paper.

Brainy glanced at it and, seeing that it was his permission slip to go on the camping trip, got up to go pack.

Up in his room Brainy placed the permission slip next to few picture frames on his bed side table. There were 3 of them, the first being a picture of Brainy with his mother and father: Not many 9 year old boys, aside from Arnold, have pictures of their parents on their bedside tables. But Brainy never got to see them, they were always at work, but his aunt took care of him. Many times Brainy felt a strong sympathy for Arnold and his missing parents. Sometimes he felt like his parents were missing also.

The second was a picture of his pet iguana that had died recently from some strange reptile disease. He had been one of the few friends Brainy had… actually his only really friend.

The third was a collage of Helga's pictures from kindergarten to the present. He chuckled at this picture, and wondered if maybe he was as obsessive as Helga. But realized he didn't write poems about her or have a shrine of her in his closet, so he couldn't be that obsessive…although he did stalk her.

_But that's more for her safety than anything else._

Brainy knew he was lying to himself, but brushed it off. He had to plan on how he could get Arnold and Helga closer together on this camping trip.

He turned on the radio to his favorite jazz station, and went over to open his window, hoping the scent of his aunt's perfume would leave his room at least, then proceeded to rummage through his closet for and old suitcase and other possible camping "essentials" he may need for his work on the forest.

As he packed he thought up new plans and schemes, much like Helga does, only without maniacal laughter…

_Okay it's a little short I know, but I promise it'll pick up we'll get into the action next chapter. _

_If you wanted to know weather it's B+H or A+H you need to reply…pretty please?_


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